Coweeman, Nineteen, and Skipper Restoration

This Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group restoration project aims to restore natural processes and wood loading rates to 0.7 miles of the Coweeman River and 0.6 miles of tributary habitat. The project includes floodplain activation, beaver-focused riparian habitat enhancement, and an overall increase in complex and diverse habitats that will increase productivity of ESA-listed Lower Columbia Chinook, coho, and steelhead. The Coweeman River flows westward from the foothills of Loowit Mountain and enters the Columbia River estuary in Kelso, WA. This project begins at about river mile 26 of the Coweeman River, 0.25 miles upstream of the historic Coweeman Dam splash dam within Weyerhaeusers modern Saint Helens Tree Farm. The project extends upstream to the Skipper Creek confluence and includes enhancement into both Nineteen Creek and Skipper Creek. While the Coweeman River is part of the Cowlitz River watershed, it is managed to protect genetically unique anadromous fish species. This project will place in-stream large woody sturctures with logs thinned from nearby forest stands. This project will complete a riparian planting with native plant species including willow, dogwood, and cottonwood after construction.

Restore natural processes and wood loading rates to the Coweeman River and tributary habitat. The project includes floodplain activation, beaver-focused riparian habitat enhancement, and an overall increase in complex and diverse habitats that will increase productivity of ESA-listed Lower Columbia Chinook, coho, and steelhead.